Time for Bravery
by The Writer Of Lucifenia
Summary: Historic AU. This story follows Weiss and Blake's ancestors. Adella and Lily have been inseparable since they were children. When Lily decided to runaway to join the Faunus Revolution, Adella begs Lily to allow her to come along. Lily allows this and they go on an adventure that they can never return from, learning more about themselves and each other along the way.


Author's note: Hey, Y'all. I'm back with a new RWBY story. This story follows Weiss and Blake's ancestors. A great aunt of Weiss' and a great grandmother of Blake's. I don't know the specifics of how far back this would be. This is an AU, so there'll be conflicting information with canon. With that being said, I hope you enjoy this story.

Stories get lost to history. These stories are the ones that the winners don't want you to know. They are the loser's stories. Many don't know that there was a faunus revolt before the faunus war. During the Great War, there was an effort made by the faunus to win their freedom from the humans who enslaved them. This revolution was not to be. Not in that time or place. It was squashed out before any change could happen.

Adella Schnee was often cited by historians as a small footnote. To the Schnee family, she was a cautionary tale and an embarrassment on their legacy. Adella was a noble woman in Atlas during the Great War. She was born into one of the most prestigious families in the world. She was nobility in Atlas, practically a princess in how she was treated. In fact, her fiancé was a Mistrali prince. They were betrothed when Adella was an infant and he was about ten years old. When the little girl turned six year old, she received a gift from her husband to be. He sent her a young faunus girl only a year older than her. Adella was unable to pronounce her name, so the girl was renamed Lily. If you ask any of the Schnees today, they will tell you Lily was the beginning of Adella's fall from grace. Lily was the problem if you asked Atlesian historians. The Faunus will tell you different stories, but that various on their political alinement. The White Fang will tell you Adella was a monster who brutalized Lily, and faunus who are less aggressive towards humans will insist their friendship is genuine.

This is the real story of Adella Schnee and Lily Belladonna. The beautiful, the ugly, and the bizarre.

…..

A white haired girl screamed as she jolted awake. She began to pant heavily, whimpering in fear from the nightmare that she had had. A soft meow emitted from the mattress on the floor, making her jump a bit. Adella curled up under the blankets, hiding from her fears. Lily rubbed her eyes tiredly before climbing up onto Adella's bed. She crawled under the covers where her friend was stay and held her close. The ten year old cat faunus purred softly as she held her human friend.

"What if they're hiding in the dark?" Adella whimpered quietly.

"I'll see them if they are," Lily replied. "I can see in the dark. I'll be your candle and your protector."

"Promise?"

"Nobody can hurt you so long as I still breath. You're my best friend." Lily smiled a little and gently rubbed Adella's back. "You don't have to be afraid."

"What will they do to you?"

"Worry not about that," Lily softly began to sing.

Oh, won't you come with me?

Where the moon is made of gold

And in the morning sun

We'll be sailing

Oh, won't you come with me?

Where the ocean meets the sky

And as the clouds roll by

We'll sing the song of the sea

"It's time to wake up."

"Grr, no," Adella groaned and rolled over, hugging her pillow tiredly.

"You have to get up. You can't stay in bed all day."

"Watch me."

Lily laughed as she flung the large, pink drapes open, allowing the sun to shine full force into the room… Right into Adella's pale face. The faunus contemplated if she girl would sun burn if she left the curtains open like this in Adella's face for too long. She doubted it, but then again, it wouldn't surprise her either. Adella groaned in irritation, silently cursing the sun for being so damn bright. She finally sat up and stretched her arms tiredly.

"Fine, I'm up. You win," Adella grumbled grumpily. She crossed her arms and pouted at Lily, who simply grinned.

"Are you going to pout like a toddler or are you going to go get your bath?" Lily asked.

Adella was unable to keep frowning at her friend. She gave the faunus woman a toothy grin as she put her golden glasses on. "I want rose petals in my bath this morning."

"I will go prepare that. Don't go back to sleep, Ada," Lily chuckled and walked out of the room to the bathroom. Adella slipped on her house slippers and her robe, shivering a little from the cold. It was still rather cold in spring, but she didn't mind. She sat down on her sofa after grabbing a book from her bookshelf. Adella's room was a large room with an intricate wallpaper depicting a scene from Atlesian folklore. Fairies and spirits of the land danced along the walls of the noble woman's room, smirking mischievously on the town down below. The carpet was a mint green and light pink with a white flower pattern and the golden light fixtures looked as though the were flowered vines sprouting from the walls. Adella's bed was a gold and wood frame with pink blankets, pillows, and curtains. Her bookcase was made from the same dark wood as her bed. She was relaxing in the sunlight when Lily returned to the room.

"Your bath is ready, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Lily." Adella stood up and walked with Lily to the bathroom. She frowned slightly at being called Ma'am. It made her feel old. Not to mention, hearing it from her best friend was always bizarre. Still, she didn't want Lily to get in trouble for addressing her improperly. Things weren't as easy as they had been when they were children. When they were kids, they were playmates. They could address each other however they wished, Lily slept on the floor of Adella's room, and they could goof off around the house, regardless of who was watching. Now that they were older, they were expected to treat each other the way a slave and master would. It bothered Adella to know that's what Lily was… She could refer to Lily as her personal assistant all that she wanted, but the truth was Lily was a slave. Lily was her father's slave and would continue to be until Adella married, in which she would become Adella's husband's slave. She wanted so badly to be able to free Lily, but she knew that no tantrum would ever be enough to convince her father. She had already tried for years.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Lily asked as she held the door open for Adella. Adella walked into the bathroom wordlessly and began undressing for her morning bath. The faunus opted not to repeat the question and simply shut the door. Once the door was closed, Lily grabbed the bath supplies and sat down on a stool next to the bath after Adella slipped into it. The noble woman sighed as she lied down in the hot water.

"Lily, I wanna run you one tonight too. That's an order if anyone asks," Adella smiled up at the faunus. Lily chuckled and took Adella's glasses before she could get them wet and set them on the counter. She used a small pitcher to wet and water Adella's hair, then brush it out and dried it in a towel while Adella continued to relax. "I wish you could just call me by my name. I mean, I don't think my name is very nice, I would've much preferred to have been called Melody or Sapphire, but no, I get plain, boring, Adella. Still, anything is better than Ma'am. Makes me feel so old, ya know. It's rather stupid that you can't just address me as Adella, because how much simpler would that be? It would simply make keeping track of what I am hearing and who I am hearing easier in a crowd. Everyone's faunus calls them Ma'am or Sir, it gets confusing if there's a large group, don't you think, Lily?"

"Mhm."

"Oh, did I tell you what father told me? It turns out that Wilhelm is coming home this month. He was given a small vacation from the army. It will be nice to see him again, it has been so long. Supposedly, he found a wife, which I find rather curious. When he left he was such an awkward man, he could barely hold a conversation with a maid, and they tend to be conversationally challenged." Adella noticed Lily rolling her eyes at that comment, so she amended her statement, "You're not a made, you're my personal assistant. There's a difference."

"Mhm."

"I'm just so excited to see my brother. It's been too long. I've been worried. I hope his wife is decent. Oh, I hope that the party will have pastries! I want a tart so badly!"

"Tarts are delicious," Lily mused.

Adella grinned, "I'll save you five!"

"Five?"

"Yes." Adella crossed her arms, proud of her plan.

"How do you intend to hide five tarts? Not to mention, I can't eat that many."

"Well I meant you could share them with your roommates."

Lily smiled, "Thank you. Five it is then."

After Adella got out of the bath, she got dressed in her room and Lily did her hair for the day. They were prepared finally prepared for the day. Adella went downstairs to eat breakfast, which consisted of tea, eggs, and English muffins. After breakfast, she retired to the library while Lily went about her chores around the house. It was a normal day like any other… That's what it was supposed to be, but a shattered window proved otherwise.


End file.
